Considered a throw-in to the Juan Soto trade and sparingly used last season, no one expected Trent Grisham to hit 25 home runs for the Yankees this year.
And yet, with more than a month to go in the regular season, Grisham has already reached that personal best. The center fielder made it there on Sunday, clubbing two solo shots as the Yankees prevented a four-game sweep with a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox on “Sunday Night Baseball.”
Grisham wasn’t the only pinstriper to homer in the rivalry win, which “improved” the Yankees to 2-8 against the Red Sox this season and put the Bombers a half-game back of Boston for American League’s top Wild Card spot.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. also left the yard twice, as he started the scoring for a previously dormant offense with a two-run homer off Dustin May in the second inning. He pulled another two-run jack in the eighth off Walker Buehler.
José Caballero, starting in place of Anthony Volpe, added a sac fly in the fourth after Giancarlo Stanton reached on a 117.8-mph double. An erratic Carlos Rodón also did well enough on the mound, limiting the Red Sox to one hit and two earned runs over 5.2 innings despite a 5-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
While Grisham wasn’t the only Yankee with a multi-homer game on Sunday, he now has four this season. He first took May deep in the third before tagging the righty again in the fifth. All in all, the leadoff man totaled 819 feet worth of dingers while going 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.
Grisham now has an .820 OPS and a 131 wRC+ this season. Both would be perfectly-timed career-highs, as he is set for free agency this offseason.
It will be interesting to see what type of deal Grisham signs, and whether the his current employer will pursue a reunion, as the 28-year-old owned a .697 OPS and a 95 wRC+ over six seasons with the Brewers, Padres and Yanks prior to this breakout offensive campaign, which has included plenty of clutch moments. He was an elite defender prior to this season, winning two Gold Gloves, but metrics have been less kind to him in 2025.
Grisham, impacted by a nagging hamstring for several weeks this summer, entered Friday’s game with -2 Outs Above Average, the worst mark of his career.
Also factoring into Grisham’s future are the Yankees’ other outfielders. Aaron Judge and Jasson Domínguez are under contract for years to come, while Cody Bellinger has a player option for next season and a track record more deserving of a big contract should he opt out, the likely scenario given the season he’s enjoyed.
Spencer Jones, one of the Yankees’ top prospects, is also part of the puzzle, and there’s always the potential to sign an external free agent like Kyle Tucker to a long-term deal.
The Yankees could potentially extend a one-year qualifying offer to Grisham, which would net the team a draft pick if he were to sign elsewhere. If Grisham were to accept the offer, the Yankees would be on the hook for a sizable salary in 2026.
Last winter, the 2025 qualifying offer was set at $21.05 million.
Of course, all that is still a few months away from serious consideration. For now, Grisham is a Yankee looking to set a few more career-highs before a potential playoff run and his first crack at the open market.
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